​Now that the fog of the main market season is finally lifting, we can more clearly view the slew of projects that have been impatiently awaiting our attention. I can only wonder how long they've leering at us with those disapproving eyes through the fog. There are a lot of time sensitive things get done within the next couple of weeks, and shamefully, I'll admit, we just want to catch up on sleep. Watch a movie, see family and friends, see each other for that matter. That time will come, but for now it's once again time to chin up, make a plan, and get to work. This week we'll be seeding more cover crops, cleaning up around the farm, continuing the potato harvest and trying to sneak in some progress on the new hoop house. That being said, I'll have to make this a short one.Hope you all have a good week, and we hope to see you at market!TOMATO SALE CONTINUES!

"Seconds" (less than perfect but still perfectly delicious) are $2 per pound or a full tray for $20

*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. All the best!Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!Markets, always rain or shine!(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Wednesday: Ann ArborThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December from 7 am to 3 pm.

Saturday: Ann Arbor and ChelseaThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is in the cafeteria of the Washington Street Education Center at 500 Washington Street in Chelsea, It runs November through March from 9 am to 1 pm.

It's the last week of October, we made it. It will be the last week of the regular market season at Howell, Stockbridge and Chelsea. However, we'll continue to be at the Ann Arbor Kerrytown market each Wednesday and Saturday through December and each Saturday after that as long as we have produce to sell. We'll also be at the Chelsea Winter Market in the Cafeteria of the Washington Street Education Center each Saturday! (http://chelseafarmersmkt.org/winter-market/) Although it's the tail end of the main market season, our days continue to be just as long as they've always been. We're building the new 100ft hoophouse as fast as we can, the existing hoophouses are getting planted in winter hardy crops, the wash station is about to be insulated from the winter chill and Fall storage crops like cabbage, kohlrabi and sweet potatoes are getting pulled from the field. While there is still plenty of work to go around before that looming bitter cold winter night comes and unwittingly shuts down produce production, this feels like as good a time as any to take stock on our first season in Michigan as Lake Divide Farm. When we began our transition to Michigan, Helen and I drove back and forth from NJ to MI each week. We had promised our people back East that we would finish out our season with them, and while we kept that promise, it meant that Helen and I were in different states most of the time. I'd be in Michigan fixing up the farm house while Helen ran markets in NJ, then we would switch off as our skills dictated. Weeks become months, and the season changed from summer to Fall and finally Winter. Eventually our NJ season ended and we dug our heels into our new life in Michigan. We had our lives shipped out here one truckload at a time, we transported most of our business and home personally, but had to hire trucks to move some of the tractors and field supplies. When we began the process, our new home in Michigan was cold, without plumbing or a working pump and the raccoons that lived in the house were not happy to have new tenants! Eventually we had water at the spigot outside and later in the house. Electricity came months afterwards. Hot water, insulation in the attic and walls, a reinstated furnace, windows that close, doors that open, all the while re-establishing a business on new land, in a new state. It's been a lifetime of a year, I can't believe how much we got done and how much still awaits doing. It's been a privilege growing for all of you this year. I know that our markets will continue without seasonal pause in some locations, but for the others, I thank you. You've supported us through the most important year of of lives. As a result, I can promise you, without hesitation, that in the coming year, following a brief winter respite, we will be back, and we will better than ever before! Thank you all for following us through this time. We hope to see you at market, even its just for a conversation over a requisite cup of coffee.

June 2016

​TOMATO SALE CONTINUES!

"Seconds" (less than perfect but still perfectly delicious) are $2 per pound or a full tray for $20

*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. All the best!Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!Markets, always rain or shine!(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Wednesday: Ann ArborThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December from 7 am to 3 pm.

Friday: StockbridgeThe Stockbridge Open Air Market is located on the square in downtown Stockbridge. It runs from May thru October from 4 pm to 7 pm

Saturday: Ann Arbor and ChelseaThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is located in the lower library lot along Park St. It runs May thru October from 8 am to 1 pm.

Sunday: HowellThe Howell Farmers' market can be found in the heart of Howell at State st and Clinton st, adjacent to the historic Livingston County Courthouse. It runs May thru October, 9 am to 2 pm.

​Let me first mention my most regular obsession: the weather. We got so much rain. Four and a half inches in a week. It rained at almost every market. We have to make some new signs for our vegetables as anything with paper and ink now looks like a Rorschach. Wednesday, the rain was non stop and the wind continuously gusted it under the awning, soaking me and the table cloths, and spritzing the vegetables, most of which didn't actually mind. Dennis, from Sparr's florist and greenhouses, lent us a tarp to block the wind and rain. It was such a relief to have a place safe from the weather. I know I wasn't the only farmer thinking it would have been nice to have this precipitation spread out over a few weeks. I know I wasn't the only vendor wishing for a fast a furious shower and then a clear up so customers could shop. But the weather is out of our control. This must have been the trade off for having so many perfect market days this season.

And our wonderful customers still came to market! Rain can change the market turnout drastically. Enough rainy days can change the bottom line for us. So we are so grateful and appreciative that folks braved the storms and came out to get their local vegetables. After all, when its raining people still eat (potentially more) and the vegetables still grow.

In other weather news, there is another frost on the horizon and this one is surely going to be more extensive than the ice crystals that dotted our farm a few weeks ago. Ten days from now, the nighttime temperature in our area is supposed to dip to 26° F. Ooooh man, that is a steep decline. We take that with a grain of salt and a prescription for preparedness. We have been readying ourselves for it all the while: gathering hoops and sand bags, collecting frost blankets. It is, after all, time for the seasons to change.

And because of the weather? Well, because of the rain, we have to wait a little to use the tractor in the field. One tractor job on the docket is digging those potatoes. We finally figured out how to adjust our potato plow to get under the tubers without slicing them (mostly). The result?! Much time and spinal capital saved! The other tractor tasks: mowing down old crops and discing up the ground to plant our garlic and even more cover crop. I am excited because we found a local farmer that raises all kinds of organic cover crop seed. I like this much better than getting seed from Minnesota. The plants are more adapted to our local conditions, we get to support our local economy, and of course, reduced shipping costs, which really counts when you are getting upwards of 1000 pounds of seed!

All the ryegrass and crimson clover that we seeded a month ago, admittedly a couple weeks late, is both benefiting and in peril by the weathers omnipotent hand. The at-last-rain helped the seeds finally germinate and sprout. The grass stands as a blanket of needle thin blades about two inches tall. The clover is only cotyledons, the first leaves to emerge for a plant. But the frost is a threat! Neither of these plants are reliably frost hardy and we were hoping to have a little more growth than this before winter. We will see though. Some Michigan growers in our zone have experienced over-wintering of both the clover and the rye grass. This is one of those comes-with-experience moments. All we can do now is keep good notes.

Beyond watching the weather, this time of year we sample and test our soil to see what all our efforts are amounting to. Although we grow vegetables (and maybe eventually fruit!) our real capital is in the soil. We care for the vegetables by caring for the soil and this means keeping track of organic matter, macro and micronutrients, pH, and microbial activity in the soil. We sample in the fall so that we can use the winter to plot a course of best action and we sample annually so we can compare year to year how our actions are affecting the land. This is our second annual sampling, so I will be sure to let you know what we find!

As far as crops go, all our fall crops are moving along. We just had our first smattering of Brussels sprouts and more are on the way. We are preparing storage areas to tuck our harvest away. Transforming our Michigan basement into a root cellar for wintersquash and sweet potatoes, and dropping the temperature of our big storage container to a chilly 33° to accommodate those that like it cool. We have two hoop houses planted and two to go (one to build first!). We are steely, we are determined, we are ready-ish. We are happy and laughing and ready to remember how to marvel at the beauty of the world, rather than just stumbling around in a harried, sleep deprived state. With that in mind, check out these mushroom pictures also a gift from the rain!

Thank you for all the support and love!See you at market!TOMATO SALE CONTINUES!

"Seconds" (less than perfect but still perfectly delicious) are $2 per pound or a full tray for $20

*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. All the best!Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!Markets, always rain or shine!(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Wednesday: Ann ArborThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December from 7 am to 3 pm.

Friday: StockbridgeThe Stockbridge Open Air Market is located on the square in downtown Stockbridge. It runs from May thru October from 4 pm to 7 pm

Saturday: Ann Arbor and ChelseaThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is located in the lower library lot along Park St. It runs May thru October from 8 am to 1 pm.

Sunday: HowellThe Howell Farmers' market can be found in the heart of Howell at State st and Clinton st, adjacent to the historic Livingston County Courthouse. It runs May thru October, 9 am to 2 pm.

Sunday morning, Lake Divide experienced the first fall frost. It didn't blanket all the crops but it wasn't exactly mild. After scraping my windshield to drive to market, I was surprised to find that the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant all survived. What a joy! One more week of salsas, sauces, and sandwiches! The greens were encased in a melting ice shell when I got out to check on them. They only look happier.

From all that heat, I sort of forgot what time of year it was. I was looking at the ten day forecast thinking, we have time. Lots of time. Winter won't be here til mid November. Who knows if that will be the case, but this frost served as an awakening for us, screaming get into gear or you will get burned by the cold! Time to get all those potatoes up and out of the field, brush the dirt from their skins, and tuck their burlap hibernation. Time to pull the fat fingers of sweet potatoes out of the ground, regardless of their size, get them cured and sweetening in storage. Time to get to cracking that garlic so we can plant it. Time to get all those winter greens in the ground so they can size up before the doldrums of winter.

And right on time, our fall crops are coming in. Crunchy kohlrabi will be joining us at market this week, and cabbage, and a touch of broccoli will be showing up before too long. The Brussels sprouts are almost ready too. And after they cure, the sweet potatoes will get tossed into the mix too. All the greens are going to be sweeter as they begin to make sugars to protect them into the winter.

And as a side note, I am preparing to fall in love with turnips. One of my dearest friends cooked a chicken on a bed of turnips and other roots this past winter. It was fabulous. I thought I didn't like them. Not the case. Inspired, I recently ate a purple top turnip raw. It was fantastic. I had one in a pastie, further hitting it home that these glorious globes have the texture and the flavor to make it into regular consumption. People say to substitute them for potatoes. I will never betray potatoes like that, but I am going to try a few deluxe turnip recipes. First roasted turnips and sweet potato skillet. (recipe here) Ask me how it went when I see you at market! ​

​TOMATO SALE CONTINUES!

"Seconds" (less than perfect but still perfectly delicious) are $2 per pound or a full tray for $20

*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. All the best!Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!Markets, always rain or shine!(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Wednesday: Ann ArborThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December from 7 am to 3 pm.

Friday: StockbridgeThe Stockbridge Open Air Market is located on the square in downtown Stockbridge. It runs from May thru October from 4 pm to 7 pm

Saturday: Ann Arbor and ChelseaThe Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is located in the lower library lot along Park St. It runs May thru October from 8 am to 1 pm.

Sunday: HowellThe Howell Farmers' market can be found in the heart of Howell at State st and Clinton st, adjacent to the historic Livingston County Courthouse. It runs May thru October, 9 am to 2 pm.